industry

HME

  • Testing, Testing

    While everyone focused on wheelchairs and Operation Wheeler Dealer in September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services nonchalantly slipped the
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  • A Credit to the Profession

    As a nursing home administrator in the 1960s, Donald H. Adler realized that patients being discharged from his facility did not have appropriate home medical equipment. “I was loaning patients wheelchairs, commodes and walking aids … so I decided to address the need,” Adler explains. He founded Care Medical Equipment, Inc. in 1970 and, since then, has led the company to eight branch locations in Oregon and Washington State with more than 300 employees. But building a business is not the reason Adler was chosen as a recipient of HomeCare‘s HomeCaring Award for 2003. According to the panel of award judges, Adler has served his communities, patients, employees and the HME industry at large unselfishly for 33 years, as well as devoting countless personal hours,…
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  • Latest HME News

  • New Products

    Lauren Manufacturing Co./Wheelchair Cushion Comfortechnology SI-Tack Premier Gel-Foam Cushion Call 800/683-0676. Web site: www.lauren.com Circle 499 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Respironics/Nasal Mask ComfortGel Call 800/345-6443. Web site: www.respironics.com Circle 498 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Surgical Appliance Industries/Compression Hosiery TruForm Fashion Plus Trouser Socks Call 800/336-6569. Web site: www.surgicalappliance.com Circle 500 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Bristol-Myers Squibb/Diabetic Care Products ChoiceDM Call 800/468-7746. Web site: www.choicedm.com Circle 497 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Quantum Rehab/Wheelchair Control Micro Joystick Call 800/800-8586. Web site: www.quantumrehab.com Circle 495 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Creative Specialties Intl./Elevated Toilet Seat Locking Elevated Toilet Seat Call 800/321-8809. Web site: www.moen.com Circle 494 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Varilite/Wheelchair Cushion Valve PSV Pressure Setting Valve…
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  • A Thanksgiving Turkey

    Just hours after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping Medicare reform bill on Nov. 22, political commentator Al Hunt told comrades on CNN’s “The Capital Gang” that it was appropriate the measure had passed during Thanksgiving week because, he said, this bill “is a real turkey.” While Hunt was addressing his concerns about the gutted benefits and high costs associated with the controversial legislation, which passed the Senate three days later, his quip was particularly fitting for those portions of the package that deal with DME. Though the final version of the bill will require interpretation (as legislative language so often does), the major points on DME are clear: There will be a CPI freeze on DME beginning next year, followed by phase-in…
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  • Letters to the Editor

    Let the Rat Out of the Bag I am offended by [CMS Administrator Tom Scully’s] statement about pressuring the good guys to “rat” out the bad guys (“Q&A with Tom Scully,” HomeCare, October 2003). The good guys have been informing his office for months to years … about the situation in the Houston area. These complaints appear to have fallen on deaf ears until now. The squeeze they are putting on the good guys appears to be an attempt to reduce numbers in the Houston area instead of cleaning up the fraud and abuse. It really appears they do not want the real “rat” out of the bag. If they were “letting checks fly out the window,” with all the complaints from us and other…
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  • Byram Healthcare Completes Ostomy, Diabetes Purchases

    Milford, Conn. Byram Healthcare Centers has acquired the disposable supplies patient bases of three HME providers in western Connecticut, western Pennsylvania and Maryland. These acquisitions include a mix of diabetes, ostomy and urological patients. A Byram spokesperson said two of the three acquired companies asked to remain anonymous. The third, NeighborCare Professionals Pharmacies, is located in Baltimore. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
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  • Diabetes/Incontinence

    TheraSense/Blood Glucose Meter FreeStyle Flash System Call 800/788-0516. Web site: www.therasense.com Circle 450 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Orthofeet/Diabetic Footwear Women’s Diabetic Shoe Model 712 Call 800/524-2845. Web site: www.orthofeet.com Circle 448 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. First Quality Products/Protective Underwear Prevail Extra Large Call 800/227-3551. Web site: www.firstquality.com Circle 449 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Mentor/Catheter Self-Cath Closed System Call 800/328-3863. Web site: www.mentorcorp.com Circle 443 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Hygienics Industries/Protective Undergarment Safe and Dry Line Call 800/498-7051. Web site: www.hygienics.com Circle 447 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. SCA Incontinence Care/Protective Underwear TENA Protective Underwear, Extra Absorbency Call 800/992-9932. Web site: www.tena-usa.com Circle 446 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Principle Business Enterprises/Bariatric Disposable Brief Tranquility XL+…
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  • Product Innovation, Legislative Updates Draw 21,000 to Medtrade Show

    Atlanta Despite looming Medicare reform legislation and a moratorium on new supplier numbers, attendance was strong at Medtrade 2003, held Oct. 9-11 at the Georgia World Congress Center. The HME industry trade show drew more than 21,000 home medical equipment providers and other home health care professionals for the second straight year. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., opened the show with an address to attendees at the American Association for Homecare’s “Washington Update,” sponsored by HomeCare. Ross, who strongly opposes competitive bidding provisions in H.R. 1, the House of Representatives version of Medicare reform, said there is a great deal of ignorance on Capitol Hill about the HME business and how providers work. “Many members think you pick a price you want to charge and send…
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  • CMS to Process Some Supplier Numbers

    Baltimore Responding to concerns regarding the National Supplier Clearinghouse provider-number moratorium, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Tom Scully said the agency will process some provider numbers this month. During an Oct. 7 CMS Open Door Forum covering home health, hospice and DME, Scully said CMS staff and its regional offices would look at new supplier numbers on a case-by-case basis starting Nov. 1. He said whether a company is issued a number or not will depend on, among other factors, how far along a provider is in the application process. Scully warned, however, that applications from providers entering the program for the first time are not likely to see an outcome until January 2004. Although he apologized for any hardship providers face because…
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  • Heard at the Show

    Some of the HME industry’s hottest issues were the subject of discussion among Medtrade speakers and attendees alike. Following are comments on just a few of the topics that dominated conversation at the show. On Medicare reform* — “We don’t know what will really happen. [AAHomecare] is still fighting because we can’t let just this small segment of our industry support the Medicare prescription drug benefit … We have had quite a few new letters come in against competitive bidding and also against the copay for home health and a lot of other issues that are hurting the whole frame of home care.” — Kay Cox, president and CEO, American Association for Homecare *According to Cox, AAHomecare received 20,000 responses from association members, industry providers,…
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  • RATC Rehab Code Applications Get Cold Shoulder from CMS

    The home health care industry should not expect any new HCPCS codes to result from applications filed this year by the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare’s Re/hab and Assistive Technology Council (RATC). That was one of the subjects of the session entitled “Re/hab Issues Update,” presented by Rita Hostak, chair of the council. Hostak, who also is vice president of government relations for Longmont, Colo.-based Sunrise Medical, told the audience that, earlier this year, RATC submitted 35 new code applications for power and manual wheelchairs, alternative positioning, seating and bath safety. Preliminary recommendations by the Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicated that none of the applications would be approved this year, she added. However, approximately 50 new HCPCS codes for wheelchair accessories,…
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  • HomeCaring Awards Presented

    HomeCare has presented Donald H. Adler, president and CEO of Care Medical and Rehabilitation Equipment, Portland, Ore., and David T. Williams, legislative affairs consultant, Invacare, Elyria, Ohio, with the HomeCaring Award for 2003. Sponsored by Medtrade, the awards honor those whose dedication and commitment defines the “caring” that HME is all about. “Medtrade is pleased to sponsor the 2003 HomeCaring Awards because they exemplify the true spirit of the industry,” said Cory Smith, group show director for Medtrade. “This year’s recipients are well-deserving of this award, and prove that this industry is founded on those who continually provide quality care that exceeds expectations.” Adler and Williams were chosen from nominations submitted by HomeCare‘s readers and judged by a five-member panel of industry professionals, including Jerold…
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